A campaign for a brand new Game Boy Advance game called Good Boy Galaxy has just been funded on Kickstarter; The first new retail GBA game in over ten years. The game is an “exploration platformer” and will release digitally on Steam and the Nintendo Switch around December of 2022, with physical versions on the Switch and original Game Boy Advance a few months later. A free demo of a “prequel” is available right now, if you want to experience what the game will be like. Also, Jenovi recently did a video about the game, featuring one of its creators, which I linked below.
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/penguinrik/goodboy-galaxy-exploration-platform-game-gba-pc-and-switch
Download a demo: https://hotpengu.itch.io/goodboy-galaxy-demo
I have to respectfully start by reminding everyone that this seems to be an unfinished game with a long way to go before completion and it’s very common for projects like this to get delayed for years, or not even finished at all. That said, this game looks to be my favorite style and I’m happy to take the $25 risk to get the ROM+PC version. Since the game is designed to work on original hardware, it should also work on ROM Carts and the MiSTer, so I can play on any device I choose.
The other purchase options are a digital Switch port (also for $25), a physical Switch version for $50, a CIB GBA version for $60 and a special edition GBA version for about $100. Hopefully the team behind this release will have learned from other people’s mistakes and the cartridge itself will be well built and safe to use on original hardware.
It’s worth noting that the team specifically refers to the Switch and PC versions as a “direct port”, implying its not just an emulated version of the ROM. This comment is further supported by a stretch goal of having “enhanced” versions for the PC and Switch that wouldn’t be possible to run on original hardware. While a well-emulated game should be indistinguishable from a port, it’s impressive the team is willing to put in the extra work and I hope they’ll use it to their advantages.
One last thing to note, is the team has reached a stretch goal that will allow them to open source the software engine used to create the game. That’s amazing news for homebrew devs that want to create new GBA games! I was happy to support the kickstarter just for the rom alone, but I’m really happy my contribution also goes towards helping the retro gaming community as well!
Here’s Jenovi’s video on the game, featuring one of the game’s creators Jeremy:
